Our collection includes tools used to make gold leaf, as well as samples of gold

leaf at various stages of production and an art collection. Our artistic handicraft

works include items such as k inbyōbu (folding

screens decorated with gold leaf ), Kaga maki-e

(lacquerware decorated with gold powder),

Kaga-zōgan (inlaid metal craft), dyeing and weaving

items that contain gold leaf, ceramic ware, cloisonné

glass, sculptures, calligraphy, as well as a diverse

array of other crafts pieces that utilize gold leaf.

About the collection and exhibits

A maki-e lacquerware writing box with a craneand pine tree design.

A Satsuma-yaki vase, painted to resemble a gold brocade.

A luxurious outermost garment Noh Costumewith a flower and hermitage design.

Hakusan Raichō Byōbu (Folding screen depicting a grouse on Mt. Hakusan)[Right Section]

A gold leaf covered wooden statue of aneleven-faced Kannon.

Musashi

Hashiba

HigashiyamaChayagai-mae

Higashiyama

HigashiChayaDistrict

Kanazawa CastleKenrokuen Garden

Tokuda ShuseiKinenkanMuseum

Omi-chō Market

Asanogawa RiverIzumi KyokaKinenkan Museum

KanazawaPhonograph Museum

Kanazawa Literary Hall

Mr. Kurando Terashima’s House

Kanazawa

Station

Kanazawa YasueGold Leaf Museum

M’za Department Store

Information

Hours9:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m. (No admission after 4:30 p.m.)

Admission Fee□General Admission …………………………￥300□Group Admission (more than 20 people)…￥250□Senior Citizens (over 65 years old) ………￥200□Child/Student (through high school) ……… Free

Transportation Directions□Hokutetsu Bus□JR Bus□Loup Bus

From Kanazawa station bus terminal (east gate)Stop at “Hashibacho”3-4 minutes walk to the museum.

* The museum does not have any parking facilities, so please use public transportation instead.

1-3-10 Higashiyama, Kanazawa-shi, Ishikawa-ken 920-0831

Tel. 076-251-8950 Fax. 076-251-8952http://kanazawa-museum.jp/kinpaku

Kanazawa Yasue Gold Leaf Museum

Hashibacho bus stop

Kanazawa Yasue Gold Leaf Museum

Rakuchū Rakugai Byōbu (Folding screen depicting scenes in and around the capital) [part of the Right Section]

The Process of Making Gold Leaf

Timeline of the History of Gold Leaf and This Museum

Types of Gold leaf and their Alloy Ratios

Gold has fascinated human beings as a beautiful precious

metal that never loses its luster, and that is produced in

comparatively small quantities.

Compared with other metals, gold is particularly malleable,

and also molds well onto the surface of other objects. For

these reasons, it is used in the form of gold leaf in many places,

as an architectural ornamentation, as well as in works of fine art.

Currently, almost all gold leaf made in Japan is produced in

Kanazawa.

This museum was built in Kita-Yasue by the late Yasue Kōmei

(1898-1997), a gold leaf craftsman native to Kanazawa. He

built the Yasue Gold Leaf Museum in order to preserve the

legacy of the gold leaf craft for the coming generations, and

displayed there pieces of art which he spent his entire life

collecting and various tools used in the production of gold leaf.

In order to make the museum accessible to more people, we

moved its location to the Higashiyama area in the fall of 2010.

We hope you can take in the charm that gold leaf has, with its

immeasurable depth and profound brilliance, as well as the

passion of the Kanazawa craftspeople who have continued to

produce gold leaf to this day.

The Beauty of G

old Leaf, The Skill of the Artisan

Toshiie Maeda orders the Kaga dominion from the battleground in Hizen Nagoya (present day Saga prefecture) to produce gold and silver leaf.

The Tokugawa bakufu (shōgun) create hakuza, an organization that regulations the production and sales of gold and silver leaf.

Kanazawa Castle’s Nino-Maru palace is reduced to ashes. The gold leaf used in the reconstruction of the palace is struck by a craftsman summoned from Kyoto.

Sasuke Notoya applies for the exclusive rights to sell gold and silver leaf produced in Edo within the Kaga clan, and receives formal permission from the bakufu the following year.

Sasuke Koshino (Notoya) builds a workshop in Yamano-ue Hōzōji Machi, in which he produces copper, tin, and brass leaf, and repairs damaged gold and silver leaf transported from places such as Edo and Kyoto.

Sasuke Koshino obtains permission to produce gold and silver leaf limited to that which is under the patronage of the Kaga clan, and its gold and silver leaf industries are officially recognized for the first time.

Edo ceases its production of gold leaf. From this period on, gold leaf production in Kanazawa increases.

Hikotarō Miura, a Kanazawa craftsman succeeds in developing a gold leaf hammering machine （haku-uchiki）.

The Regulation Restricting the Manufacture and Sales of Luxury Items (a.k.a. the “July 7th prohibition”) is enacted, dealing a large blow to the gold leaf industry. Craftsman changes work or retire one after another.

World War II ends, and the July 7th Prohibition is lifted.

Restrictions and prohibitions against using gold are completely lifted, and the unregulated production and sales of gold leaf begins.

Gold leaf craftsman Kōmei Yasue opens the “Yasue Gold Leaf Museum” in Kita-Yasue, where he publically displays pieces of art and various tools used in the production of gold leaf.

Kanazawa gold leaf becomes a designated traditional craft by means of the “Act on the Promotion of Traditional Craft Industries.”

The Yasue Gold Leaf Museum’s land, building, pieces of art, gold leaf tools, and machinery are donated to the city of Kanazawa, and the museum becomes the “Kanazawa Yasue Gold Leaf Museum.”

The Kanazawa Yasue Gold Leaf Museum moves from its former location in Kita-Yasue to a new construction in Higashiyama.

1593 Bunroku 2

1696 Genroku 9

1808 Bunka 5

1844 Kōka 1

1856 Ansei 3

1864 Genji 1

1873 Meiji 6

1915 Taisho 4

1940 Showa 15

1945 Showa 20

1953 Showa 28

1974 Showa 49

1977 Showa 52

1985 Showa 60

2010 Heisei 22

CalendarYear

JapaneseEra Year Event

Gold

Silver

Copper

98.912%

0.495%

0.593%

97.666%

1.357%

0.977%

96.721%

2.602%

0.677%

95.795%

3.535%

0.670%

94.438%

4.901%

0.661%

75.534%

24.466%

-

58.824%

41.176%

-

Pure Gold5mōshoku

Pure Gold1gōshoku

Pure Gold2gōshoku

Pure Gold3gōshoku

Pure Gold4gōshoku Sanbushoku Sadairo

Note: The above alloy ratios are prescribed by the Ishikawa Gold leaf Commerce and Industry Cooperative. Furthermore, other types of gold leaf not mentioned in the above chart are also produced.

Floor MapK

inpaku

(gold leaf)

Haku-utsushi

Nuki-shigoto

Uchi-m

ae

Hinom

a-sagyō

Watashi-shigoto

Kom

a-uchi

Shiki-ire

Zum

i-kiri

Uw

azumi

Keshō-uchi

Ōjū

Kojū

Ara-gane

Kop

pe

Nobe-gane

Kane-aw

ase

Uwazumi and gold leaf craftsmen also prepare special paper, which is used in each work process when making gold leaf.

Steps that the uwazumi craftsman performs Steps that the gold leaf craftsman performs

Zumi-uchi Haku-uchi

Approximate thickness: 5/100mm Approximate thickness: 1/1000mm Approximate thickness: 1/10000mm

Multi-purpose Exhibition HallUsed for craftwork exhibits and cultural interaction

Gold leaf ceiling eaves Gold leaf parabolic ceiling

Reception desk Elevator Men’s toilet Women’stoilet

Multi-purposetoilet Coin lockers

�Size of the grounds…757.51m²

�Floor space…1,392.74m²　 ・ 1st Floor: 497.73m²(On this floor: Multi-purpose Exhibition Hall 128.25 m²)　 ・ 2nd Floor: 443.54m²(On this floor: Exhibition Room 279.52m²)　 ・ 3rd Floor: 437.56m²(On this floor: Seminar Room 129.65m²)

3F

2F

1F

Kanazawa-HakuResearch Center

Seminar Room

Permanent Exhibition Gallery

Rest Area (benches)

Temporary Exhibition Gallery

Video Area

Entrance

Office

Parking

LibraryOutdoor Information Corner

Multi-purpose Exhibition Hall

Permanent Exhibit GalleryHere, you can see what gold leaf looks like, as well the production process to make it

Temporary Exhibition GalleryYou can see the exhibition of art, craft and gold leaf

Seminar RoomWhere lectures and classes related to Kanazawa crafts are held

Rest areaBenches are available if you would like to take a break